X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

TNWN: Rays look to win a third consecutive game against Houston

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A pair of orange roofs graced Tropicana Field on Monday and Tuesday, as the Rays defeated the Houston Astros at home. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a travel day Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Rays made their way back to Houston, where they will butt heads with the Astros one more time in the final game of the best of five American League Division Series. Houston won the first two games of the set, while Tampa Bay won a pair of elimination games at home. The victors will face the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, starting Saturday.

The Rays enter play 3-0 in elimination postseason games this season and are 8-4 overall. They have dominated the series beyond the Justin Verlander/Gerrit Cole innings in Houston. With Verlander and Cole on the on the bump, Houston outscored Tampa Bay 8-0. Yet beyond that, in all the other innings of the series, the Rays have outscored Houston 17-5.

As Bradford Doolittle (ESPN) noted, the numbers all swing the Rays’ way. Tampa Bay has a 6-4 edge in homers in the series. They have that 17-13 edge in scoring. They have more walks, a better on-base percentage, a better slugging percentage. The Astros have been outplayed.

It is not clear if Yandy Diaz will be available. Diaz left Monday’s game with left foot soreness, and did not play on Tuesday. In his place, Matt Duffy collected two hits on Monday, while Joey Wendle hit an RBI double on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Rays pitching staff has limited Houston to 1-9 with runners in scoring position (.111 BA) over the last two games — something they hope to continue on Thursday. Put another way, the keys to any presumptive victory will be timely hitting, run prevention, and quality pitching.

Even though Tyler Glasnow is set to make his second postseason appearance (more on him below), Rays manager Kevin Cash acknowledged Wednesday that there will again be an all hands on deck approach to pitching in the series finale, with all of the team’s 12 pitchers available for this contest, including both Blake Snell and Charlie Morton (who pitched Monday) on short rest. In the bullpen day on Tuesday, not a single Tampa Bay hurler threw more than 29 pitches. The same can be expected from A.J. Hinch and the Astros.

The New What Next

Tyler Glasnow (6-1, 1.78 ERA) will make his second and final ALDS appearance, pitching opposite of Gerrit Cole (20-5, 2.50 ERA).

Tyler Glasnow will be pitching on an extra day’s rest after throwing 4-1/3 innings on Friday when he gave up four hits including a two-run homer to Jose Altuve. He struck out five. He is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in one career start against Houston in regular season play, but 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP in the postseason.

Gerrit Cole was historically dominant in the second game of the ALDS when he fanned 15 — an Astros franchise playoff record — in his 118-pitch, 7-2/3 inning outing. Cole is 0-2 with a 3.51 ERA in four career starts against the Rays, 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in two 2019 starts against Tampa Bay, and 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP in postseason play. Key Matchups: Jesus Aguilar (3-8, 2 RBI, BB), Ji-Man Choi (2B, HR, 4 RBI, BB), Travis d’Arnaud (4-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Yandy Diaz (2-3, HR, RBI), Tommy Pham (9-18, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI), Daniel Robertson (2-6), Joey Wendle (3-7, 3B, 3 RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs Astros — an ALDS preview

Rays ALDS Game Five Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows LF
  2. Pham DH
  3. Choi 1B
  4. d’Arnaud C
  5. Sogard 2B
  6. Garcia RF
  7. Wendle 3B
  8. Kiermaier C
  9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

— The Rays will be hosting three more official watch parties on Thursday in the Tampa Bay area. The first pitch is slated for 7:00, and the locations of the parties are below.

— Ever wonder about the cognitive dissonance between very wealthy people, like Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg, and, well…pretty much everyone else? Me too!

According to an article by Harren Walker (Vice), UC Berkeley psychologists Paul Diff and Dacher Keltner have done a number of studies over the past 10 years that suggest that the more material wealth an individual accumulates, the less likely that person is to have compassion and empathy for other people, and to use their wealth to help others in need.

Walker continued:

Upper-class individuals are also worse at recognizing other people’s emotions, and they’re less likely to pay attention to the people they’re interacting with.

— Harren Walker

In other words, Sternberg is living in a world where the realities of the majority of the Rays fan base do not match up with his own. Is he delusional for thinking that baseball fans in Tampa Bay and Montreal will glom onto his cockamamie leverage proposal to split the Rays between two cities for half a season? From a clinical perspective, there’s a strong possibility of that.

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LBWMF: Rays win second straight against Houston, 4-1

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The rally flags were out in full force at Tropicana Field on Tuesday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays live to see another day. The Rays scored three huge first-inning runs against Justin Verlander on Tuesday and knocked the right-hander out of the ballgame in the fourth inning. That propelled the Rays to a second consecutive win over the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series, forcing a fifth game to be played on Thursday. The good guys held on to beat the ‘Stros by a 4-1 margin in front of 32,178 loud fans at Tropicana Field.

As he did six times during the regular season, Diego Castillo opened the game and fanned three batters after allowing a leadoff single to George Springer. His first inning of work included an absolutely filthy 99 mph fastball which cut in on a whiffing Jose Altuve, on the seventh pitch of the at-bat.

Meanwhile, Tommy Pham got the first-inning run-scoring rally going by drilling a 2-2 changeup over the wall into left-center for an early lead.

It was Pham’s second homer of the postseason.

Ji-Man Choi walked before Avisail Garcia laced a single to left. And with two on and one out, Travis d’Arnaud lined a single to left, scoring Choi for a two-run lead. Joey Wendle capped the scoring by ripping a double into the right-field corner, scoring Garcia for an early and unrelinquishable lead.

Castillo made his way to the mound once again in the second inning and allowed a one-out walk to Yuli Gurriel, but departed the game only after he got Carlos Correa to pop out to third.

Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough took over in his place and quickly got Josh Reddick to line-out to first, thanks to a great play by Ji-Man Choi — the first of two fantastic plays on the night.

In the fourth inning, Yarbrough found himself in trouble, although he was helped out by a terrific bang-bang throw at the plate.

Altuve singled to left to start the frame, and with one out, Yordan Alvarez hit a booming double to the wall in center. Kevin Kiermaier played the carom on a hop and threw a strike to Willy Adames, who was about 10 feet behind second base. Still, Adames quickly threw a bullet home to d’Arnaud at home to cut down the always dangerous Altuve.

Nick Anderson finished the inning by coaxing Gurriel into a ground out, ending the threat.

Then in a beautiful moment of serendipity, Adames led off the bottom of the sixth inning by crushing a 1-1 pitch off the D-ring in left-center, putting the Rays up by four.

It was willy’s second homer in as many days.

Verlander, who was pitching on three days rest, made an ungraceful exit three batters later. Tuesday’s game will go down as Verlander’s shortest outing ever against Tampa Bay. The presumptive Cy Young Award winner relinquished seven hits and three walks across 3-2/3 innings while striking out five. He threw 52 of 84 pitches for strikes (62% strike rate).

Anderson continued to pitch through the sixth inning, posting the longest outing of his big league career. In 2-1/3 innings of work, Anderson punched out two and allowed just one hit. The right-hander benefitted from another excellent play by Choi, who snared a line drive off the bat of Michael Brantley and stepped on first to turn the unassisted double play.

After Anderson, Colin Poche took over and collected five outs, while striking out two, before former Ray Robinson Chirinos hit a two-out homer to right-center to draw Houston within three, chasing Poche.

Tasked with getting the final four outs of the game, Emilio Pagan got the last out in the eighth, then took the mound again in the ninth. Pagan walked Altuve on a close full-count pitch with one out, bringing Alex Bregman to the plate. The 2019 All-Star singled to left-center, putting runners at the corners and chasing Pagan.

Blake Snell, making his first big league relief appearance, entered to face Alvarez, who represented the tying run. Alvarez went down swinging on a slider for the second out; allowing Bregman to move up 90 feet on defensive indifference. Finally, Gurriel grounded to Wendle at second base, ending the game with another orange roof.

All told, six pitchers combined to limit Houston to six hits and two walks. Compare that to Tampa Bay, which had 13 hits (including four from Garcia, and three from Pham).

Rays win, 4-1, one more ALDS ballgame to go.

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LBWMF: Morton, Adames, and the Rays pound the Astros in game three of the ALDS, 10-3

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A blue roof gave way to an orange roof by the end of the Rays 10-3 contest against the Astros. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

The excitement was palpable on Monday, as the Tampa Bay Rays overcame their two-games to none deficit, handily defeating the Houston Astros, 10-3, in front of 32,251 raucous fans at Tropicana Field. The Rays now trail the Astros two-games to one in the best of five series, with game four scheduled for Tuesday.

The Astros, who had not trailed in the first two games, took the lead in the opening frame against Charlie Morton. After getting ahead of (and nearly striking out) Jose Altuve on a borderline pitch that was called ball three, Altuve homered to deep centerfield on the payoff pitch. It was Altuve’s second long ball of the series, and the fourth this season against Tampa Bay. And Morton continued to scuffle in the inning.

After Michael Brantly was called out for the second out of the frame, Alex Bregman walked, and Yordan Alvarez reached on a two-base throwing error by Yandy Diaz that skipped past Ji-Man Choi. However, the right-hander limited damage and got Yuli Gurriel to pop out to second on the sixth pitch of the at-bat, ending a 31-pitch labor-intensive inning.

From there, Morton tightened up his game and went on to scatter a base hit, a double, and a walk, yet nothing else. All told, Morton allowed one run on three hits and two walks, while striking out nine on 93 pitches (62 strikes, 67% strike rate).

Houston’s manager A.J. Hinch is all too familiar with this type of solid performance by the former Astro.

I’ve seen this out of Charlie. When you get him early, get some opportunities early, you have to maximize them if you can. Same thing he did in the Wild Card Game. He settled in nicely and got them through five innings.

— A.J. Hinch

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay took an unrelinquishable lead in the bottom of the second against Zack Greinke, who still has never won a game at Tropicana Field (seven appearances, six starts). Avisail Garcia got things started with a one-out base hit to center. A batter later, he moved up 90 feet on a groundout. After Travis d’Arnaud was hit by a 1-1 pitch, Kevin Kiermaier laced a 2-1 changeup, that caught too much plate, into the right-center stands for a three-run homer, giving the Rays a two-run lead.

It was Tampa Bay’s first lead of the series and the first of four home runs in the ballgame.

Tampa Bay was able to extend the lead to three runs in the bottom of the third inning. With none on and two outs when Ji-Man Choi launched a solo shot to right, his first homer of the postseason.

Another inning another homer … Brandon Lowe unloaded on an opposite-field homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth inning — his first-ever post-season home run, making it 5-1.

And that wasn’t all.

Willy Adames worked a two-out walk, chasing Greinke. Hector Rondon entered and allowed a single to Matt Duffy before Wade Miley, the third pitcher of the frame, gave up a two-run double to Austin Meadows, putting Tampa Bay up by six.

Tommy Pham followed with an RBI single to right for an 8-1 lead.

Houston was able to get back two runs in the sixth inning against Chaz Roe, collecting three hits while plating a pair of runs on a Gurriel single. Still, Roe got the next two batters while Brendan McKay got Aledmys Diaz to pop out ending the inning.

Unsatisfied with just a five-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, Adames made it a six-run game once again, hitting a home run to left-center off Miley.

It was the first time the Rays hit four homers at the Trop in a postseason game.

Tampa Bay tacked on one last run in the seventh inning. After Garcia reached on an Alex Bregman error, he went to third on a single by Lowe, then came home on a sacrifice fly by d’Arnaud.

All told, the Rays scored 10 runs on 12 hits with three by Adames. As a team, Tampa Bay’s hurlers punched out 13 Astros. It should be mentioned, Houston was the toughest team to strikeout in the league during the regular season.

The New What Next

Kevin Cash will mix-and-match on the mound on Tuesday, with Justin Verlander (1-0, 0.00 ERA in the postseason, 21-6, 2.58 ERA in the regular season) getting the ball for Houston.

Diego Castillo (5-8, 3.41 ERA) will open for the Rays. The right-hander tossed 1-2/3 scoreless innings against Houston in Game 2 of the ALDS on Saturday. In six opening turns on the mound this season, Castillo is 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA (4.85 FIP). He, however, did not allow a run in 10 of 12 September appearances (2 ER across 14-2/3 IP), nor has he given up a run in any of his playoff outings so far across 3-2/3 innings.

After Castillo, the bullpen will cover the balance of the game with several pitchers working 1-2 innings each.

Justin Verlander will get the start even though A.J. Hinch likely would have preferred to save the right-hander for the first game of the ALCS. Verlander will pitch on three days’ rest Tuesday after tossing seven scoreless innings in the first game of the ALDS on Friday, allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out eight on 100 pitches (67 strikes, 67% strike rate). Verlander has never pitched on three days rest, so things could get interesting if he is not as sharp as usual. He is 10-4 with a 3.17 ERA in 20 career regular starts against Tampa Bay, and 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 10 starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: Travis d’Arnaud (1-2), Yandy Diaz (2-4, 2B, BB), Matt Duffy (4-8), Tommy Pham (3-6, 2 2B), Joey Wendle (3-8, 2B, RBI)

You can read more about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs Astros — an ALDS preview

Rays ALDS Game 4 Starting Lineup

    null
  1. Meadows LF
  2. Pham DH
  3. Choi 1B
  4. Garcia RF
  5. Lowe 2B
  6. d’Arnaud C
  7. Wendle 3B
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

— A brief moment of pause for everyone commenting on the Rays attendance including Bob Costas, who allegedly decided to broach the subject on the air this afternoon. People who attend baseball games are consumers that purchase some sort of product or service. And as with any other product, consumers spend their hard-earned dollars on things they value regardless of the parameters surrounding product. The fact that there were over 30,000 fans in attendance on a weekday proves that fans can make it out to the Trop given the wherewithal to do so. The fans in attendance on Monday likely had to sacrifice more to attend the 1:10 p.m. thanks to adult responsibilities like work.

Remind your friends and family of this whenever they feel the need to bring up the subject of attendance.

— Well, this is pretty damn cool!

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Rays ALDS Game Three pregame notes

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  • The Rays grounds crew prepared the turf for game three, and hopefully game four, of the ALDS on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays will take the field in their first home playoff game in six years while also trying to keep their impressive season alive. The Rays have dropped the first two contests in the best-of-five American League Division Series to the Astros, 6-2 and 3-1, in Houston.

More than 30,000 fans are expected Monday, as the upper deck will be opened for this ballgame, and for Tuesday’s game, should Tampa Bay win this afternoon. For what it’s worth, Tampa Bay ended the regular season by winning 15 of 17 games at the Trop.

Rays skipper Kevin Cash said he doesn’t plan on changing the lineup significantly today, even though Zack Greinke — whom Astros skipper A.J. Hinch is fully confident in — will be on the mound. Houston is 8-2 in games Greinke has started, which includes a 9-8 loss to the Rays at the end of August.

The New What Next

Charlie Morton (16-6, 3.05 ERA), the winning pitcher in the AL Wildcard game, will get the start for the Rays, pitching opposite of Zack Greinke (8-1, 3.02 ERA with Houston, 18-5, 2.93 ERA overall).

Charlie Morton gave up one run (unearned) on five hits and three walks while striking out four across innings to earn the win over the Athletics on Wednesday. Morton threw 94 pitches (56 strikes, 60% strike rate). Morton battled the Athletics but made the important big pitch when necessary, consequently coaxing a pair of inning-ending double plays to shut down the powerful Oakland lineup. Morton is 4-6 with a 6.28 ERA in 11 career starts against his former team, and 3-2 with a 3.96 ERA in seven career postseason starts.

Morton spoke yesterday about facing his former teammates:

We got our backs to the wall a little bit here. So for me to get the opportunity to go out and try to get some quality innings, give our team a chance to win, yeah, I mean, these games are special when a lot’s on the line.

Probably some of the more memorable moments in baseball I’ll ever have are games I’ve pitched in the playoffs. This is a great opportunity for us, show what we’re made of, go out there against a big challenge here and see what we got.

— Charlie Morton

Zack Greinke gave up two hits and one walk while striking out nine through 8-1/3 scoreless innings against the Mariners on Wednesday. Greinke took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning before he allowed two singles to end his night. Greinke was dominant, registering 20 swinging strikes without allowing a three-ball count until the fifth inning. Greinke finished the regular season with a 2.93 ERA and 187 strikeouts over 208-2/3 innings. The right-hander is 4-6 with a 3.36 ERA in 14 career starts against Tampa Bay, and 0-0 with a 7.94 ERA in one outing against this season. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (1-2, BB), Travis d’Arnaud (3-7, HR, 3 RBI), Yandy Diaz (1-3)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs Astros — an ALDS preview

Rays ALDS Game Three Starting Lineup

  1. Diaz 3B
  2. Meadows LF
  3. Pham DH
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Garcia RF
  6. Lowe 2B
  7. d’Arnaud C
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

— Oh, the memories. Let’s make some new memories today!

— Saturday night was fun even though the outcome was less so. Than you Tampa Bay Rays for putting together such a fun event!

— In the words of Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), of the 50 teams that lost the first two games of a best-of-five postseason series on the road, only seven came back to win the series, most recently the 2017 Yankees against Cleveland.

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Rays ALDS game two pregame notes

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Al Lang Stadium, site of Saturday night’s ALDS watch party. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

After a 6-2 loss in the opening game of the American League Division Series, the Tampa Bay Rays look to even the best-of-five-set against the Houston Astros. The Rays will head home tonight after the game.

Suffice it to say, in order for the Rays to defeat Houston with Gerrit Cole on the bump, they will need to play a cleaner game tonight. Tampa Bay walked five batters yesterday and committed a key error in the fifth inning when, against Chaz Roe, Yuli Gurriel popped up toward shallow right field. Brandon Lowe, Austin Meadows, and Ji-Man Choi came together, yet the ball glanced off Lowe’s glove — on a ball that appeared to be an easier play for Meadows coming in — allowing two runs to score on the costly gaffe.

The New What Next

Blake Snell (6-8, 4.29 ERA) will get the start for the Rays, pitching opposite of Gerrit Cole (Gerrit Cole (20-5, 2.50 ERA).

Blake Snell allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four over 2-1/3 innings against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Snell allowed both runs in the first inning but recovered to deliver 1-1/3 scoreless frames before his exit after 62 pitches (37 strikes, 60% strike rate). Snell continued to be on a limited pitch count, although he threw his longest outing since his return from the IL. The southpaw finished the regular season with a 4.29 ERA and 147 strikeouts through 107 innings. Snell is 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA in six career starts against Houston.

Snell hopes to go five strong innings. The Rays are expected to rely heavily on the bullpen tonight, and they will have plenty of options available, including Yonny Chirinos and Ryan Yarbrough.

Gerrit Cole allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out 10 over five innings against the Angels on Sunday. Cole registered 20 swinging strikes and 14 called strikes on only 92 pitches in the win. It has been a great run for Cole, as he ended the season as the first pitcher in big-league history to record nine consecutive double-digit strikeout games. The 29-year-old finished the regular season with a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts across 212-1/3 innings. Cole is 0-2 with a 3.51 ERA in four career starts against the Rays, and 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in two starts against this season. Key Matchups: Jesus Aguilar (3-8, 2 RBI, BB), Ji-Man Choi (2B, HR, 4 RBI, BB), Travis d’Arnaud (4-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Yandy Diaz (2-3, HR, RBI), Tommy Pham (9-18, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI), Daniel Robertson (2-6), Joey Wendle (3-7, 3B, 3 RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs Astros — an ALDS preview

Rays ALDS Game Two Lineup

  1. Diaz 3B
  2. Meadows LF
  3. Pham DH
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Garcia RF
  6. B. Lowe 2B
  7. d’Arnaud C
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

— Avisail Garcia is expected to be back in the starting lineup for Tampa Bay tonight.

— Remember, head to either Al Lang Stadium (in downtown St. Petersburg), or Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park (in Tampa) for the official team watch parties. The first pitch is set for 9:10.

Personally, I’ll be getting Rowdy at Al Lang Stadium (cough, location of the future home of the Tampa Bay Rays), although I hope to see evidence of lots of fans across the Bay Area!

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